Water saving valve device

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a water saving valve device having a valve body, a coupling unit, a spring, an actuating rod, a push plate, and a packing. A manual manipulating unit is coupled to the coupling unit to manually move the actuating rod up and down, and includes a lower body, a slide bar, a spring, and a locking piece. The lower body is coupled to the coupling unit and has a vertical pipe on its lower portion. The slide bar has on its upper end a magnet, thus vertically moving the actuating rod by magnetic force. The spring is fitted over the lower portion of the slide bar. The upper end of the locking piece is alternately stopped by first and second locking holes when the slide bar moves up and down, and the lower end is supported by the outer circumference of the vertical pipe.

This application claims benefit of Serial No. 10-2008-0127689, filed 16Dec. 2008 in South Korea and which application is incorporated herein byreference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made theabove disclosed application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to water saving valve devicesand, more particularly, to a water saving valve device which isinstalled at a position between a water pipe and a shower head and ismanually opened or closed when necessary, thus controlling the dischargeof water from the shower head, therefore saving water.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a home bathroom, public bath, or swimming place is providedwith a shower facility. A shower is installed in the shower facility.The shower includes a water pipe which is connected to a water supplypipe, and a shower head which sprays water supplied through the waterpipe. A valve or tap is coupled to the water pipe to control the supplyof water.

As water shortages are becoming acute all over the world, many effortsat saving water have been actively made. As one example of the efforts,recently, a plurality of water saving showers is installed in the showerfacility which is provided in a home, public bath, spa, or swimmingplace. A water saving shower is a device which is constructed toautomatically stop supplying water after a predetermined time has passedwhile a shower is being taken or when a human body is not sensed at agiven position for a predetermined period of time. To this end, thewater saving shower is provided with an additional intermediate valvebetween a water pipe and a shower head, in addition to a main valve, oris provided with a timer or human detection sensor, thus realizing thesaving of water by opening or closing the valve if a specific conditionis met.

A solenoid valve is mainly used as the intermediate valve. The solenoidvalve uses an electromagnet, and moves a conductor by a magnetic fieldwhich is produced when current passes through a coil wound around theconductor, thus automatically opening or closing the valve.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventionalsolenoid valve. As shown in the drawing, the solenoid valve includes avalve body 10 which has a hollow part therein, with a water inlet port12 and a water outlet port 14 formed at opposite sides of the valve body10. A solenoid 42 is mounted to the lower end of the valve body 10 andoperated in response to an electric signal. A connecting part 48 isprovided on the upper end of the valve body 10, and has an actuatinglever which is manually moved up and down. A coupling unit 34 having acoupling plate 36 and a pipe 38 is interposed between the valve body 10and the solenoid 42. Here, the pipe 38 is inserted into a coil 44 whichis provided on the inner circumference of the solenoid 42, and thecoupling plate 36 is seated on the solenoid 42 and fastened to the valvebody 10 via a fastening means such as a bolt. Meanwhile, a spring 32 andan actuating rod 30 are sequentially inserted into the pipe 38, and aprotruding pipe 40 is provided on the upper surface of the couplingplate 36, with a circular push plate 26 inserted into the protrudingpipe 40 in such a way as to move up and down. A perforation 28 is formedat a predetermined position in the push plate 26, and projections 25 and27 are provided on the central portion of the push plate 26 in such away as to extend upwards and downwards, respectively. An end of theprojection 27 is in contact with the actuating rod 30. That is, theupper end of the actuating rod 30 which moves up and down comes intocontact with the projection 27 of the push plate 26, thus making thepush plate 26 move up and down.

A packing 20 formed of a synthetic resin material is seated on the uppersurface of the push plate 26. That is, the projection 25 of the pushplate 26 is inserted and secured to a through hole which is formed inthe center of the packing 20, so that the packing 20 is seated on andsecured to the upper surface of the push plate 26. Further, a pluralityof perforations 24 is formed along the edge of the packing 20, and theouter circumference of the upper portion of the packing 20 constructedas described above is inserted into a packing insert hole 18 which isformed in the valve body 10. Meanwhile, a vertical pipe 16 whichcommunicates at one end thereof with the water inlet port 12 isintegrally provided in the central portion of the valve body 10, and thepacking 20 is in contact with the lower end of the vertical pipe 16.Meanwhile, the connecting part 48 having a hollow portion is fastened tothe upper surface of the valve body 10 in a threaded manner, and theactuating lever is coupled to the central portion of the upper portionof the connecting part 48 in such a way as to move up and down.

Hereinafter, the operation of the conventional solenoid valveconstructed as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.2A and 2B. FIG. 2A is a view illustrating the state in which current isnot supplied to the coil 44 of the solenoid, so that the valve isclosed. Referring to the drawing, the actuating rod 30 provided in thepipe 38 is elastically biased upwards by the spring 32, thus pushing thepush plate 26 and thereby supporting the packing 20 seated on the pushplate 26. At this time, the packing 20 is in contact with the lower endof the vertical pipe 16, thus keeping the valve closed.

FIG. 2B is a view illustrating the state in which the valve is open.Referring to the drawing, when current is supplied to the coil 44 by asensor or switch, the actuating rod 30 is magnetized and moved down.Simultaneously, the push plate 26 seated on the actuating rod 30 is alsomoved downwards. Thereafter, the packing 20 supported by the push plate26 is separated from the push plate 26 by the pressure of water fed intothe vertical pipe 16, thus causing water to flow through the verticalpipe 16 to the water outlet port 14. That is, the valve is kept open bythe above-mentioned operation, thus smoothly supplying water. Further,when a user desires to close the valve, current supplied to the coil 44of the solenoid 42 is shut off, so that the actuating rod 30 losesmagnetizing force and thus is elastically moved upwards by the spring32. Therefore, the push plate 26 also moves upwards and supports thepacking 20. The packing 20 comes into contact with the vertical pipe 16again, so that the supply of water is cut off, thus keeping the valveclosed.

The conventional water saving valve device is very convenient in thatthe supply of water is automatically cut off. However, since theconventional water saving valve device uses the solenoid, themalfunction of the valve device frequently occurs at the time ofperforming the switching operation in response to an electric signal.Further, the solenoid increases the volume of the valve device, so thatinstallation is limited and manufacturing cost is very high, andmaintenance cost is very high due to the use of power. Further, when theproblem of power, for example, the exhaustion of a battery for supplyingcurrent occurs, leakage of water may continue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide a water saving valve device, which does not usea solenoid and manually moves an actuating rod up and down, thuspreventing malfunction by an electric signal, therefore reducingmanufacturing cost and maintenance cost, and which has a small volume,thus making it easy to install, and which is capable of preventing theleakage of water when the supply of power is shut off.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription and embodied by a preferred embodiment. Further, the objectsand advantages of the present invention are realized by the meansdisclosed in the claims and the combinations thereof.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention providesa water saving valve device having a valve body including a water inletport, a water outlet port and a vertical pipe, a coupling unit includinga coupling plate coupled to a lower portion of the valve body and a pipeprovided on a lower portion of the coupling plate, a spring and anactuating rod inserted into the pipe, a push plate contacting theactuating rod in such a way as to move up and down, and a packing,wherein a manual manipulating unit is coupled to a lower portion of thecoupling unit to manually move the actuating rod up and down. The manualmanipulating unit includes a lower body coupled to the lower portion ofthe coupling unit, the lower body being open at a top and having a spacetherein, with a vertical pipe provided on a lower portion of the lowerbody, a slide bar having on an upper end thereof a magnet and verticallymoving the actuating rod accommodated in the pipe of the coupling unitby a magnetic force of the magnet, as the slide bar inserted into thevertical pipe slides up and down, a spring fitted over an outercircumference of a lower portion of the slide bar to elastically supportthe slide bar in the vertical pipe, and a locking piece, an upper endthereof being alternately stopped and supported by a first locking holeand a second locking hole which are formed side by side at upper andlower positions on an outer circumference of the slide bar when theslide bar moves up and down, a lower end thereof being supported by anouter circumference of the vertical pipe, so that the slide bar issecured alternately at a position where magnetic force acts on theactuating rod and a position where magnetic force does not act on theactuating rod.

A guide hole may be formed between the first locking hole and the secondlocking hole to guide a movement of the upper end of the locking piece.The guide hole may include a first upward guide part for guiding thelocking piece obliquely upwards from the first locking hole, a firstdownward guide part for guiding the locking piece obliquely downwardsfrom an end of the first upward guide part to the second locking hole, asecond upward guide part for guiding the locking piece obliquely upwardsfrom the second locking hole, and a second downward guide part forguiding the locking piece obliquely downwards from an end of the secondupward guide part to the first locking hole.

A removal prevention ring may be fitted over the outer portion of thelocking piece to prevent the locking piece from being removed from thevertical pipe.

A through groove may be provided in a predetermined portion on an outercircumference of an upper portion of the vertical pipe of the lower bodyin such a way as to extend in a horizontal direction, so that the upperend of the locking piece passes through the through groove and movesalong the guide hole formed in the outer circumference of the slide bar,and the lower end of the locking piece is rotatably fitted into a shaftinsert hole which is formed in the outer circumference of the verticalpipe provided on the lower portion of the lower body.

A fan-shaped hole may be formed right under the through groove of thevertical pipe in such a way as to be tapered in a direction from anupper position to a lower position, and may provide a horizontalrotating space for the locking piece.

A catcher may be coupled to the lower end of the slide bar to be easilycaught when the slide bar is manually moved up and down.

The water saving valve device may be installed at a position between awater pipe and a shower head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventionalsolenoid valve;

FIG. 2A is a view illustrating the state in which current is notsupplied to the coil 44 of the conventional solenoid valve, so that thevalve is closed;

FIG. 2B is a view illustrating the state in which current is supplied tothe coil of the conventional solenoid valve, so that the valve is open;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a water saving valve device according tothe present invention which is installed between a water pipe and ashower head;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the water savingvalve device according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exterior front view illustrating the state in which thewater saving valve device according to the present invention is open;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating the state in which the watersaving valve device according to the present invention is open first;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the state in which the slide bar of thewater saving valve device according to the present invention is pulleddownwards once and then released;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating the state in which the slide bar of thewater saving valve device according to the present invention is pulleddownwards once and then released as shown in FIG. 7, so that the valvedevice is closed; and

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the state in which the slide bar is pulleddownwards once again from the position of FIG. 8 and released.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the construction of a water saving valve device accordingto the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 illustrates a water saving valve device according to the presentinvention which is installed to a shower, and FIG. 4 is an explodedperspective view illustrating the water saving valve device according tothe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the water saving valve device according to thepresent invention is provided between a water pipe 50 connected to awater supply pipe and a shower head 60 to temporarily cut off the supplyof water to the shower head 60 as necessary. Preferably, the watersaving valve device is surrounded by an additional casing, as shown inthe drawing.

The upper construction of the water saving valve device according to thepresent invention remains the same as that of the conventional solenoidvalve which has been described above. That is, the valve device includesa valve body 10, a push plate 26, a packing 20, a coupling unit 34, andan actuating rod 30, except for a solenoid 42 which is provided on thelower portion of the conventional solenoid valve. The valve device ofthe present invention includes a manual manipulating unit 100 tomanually move the actuating rod 30 up and down, in place of thesolenoid. Since the upper construction including the valve body 10 hasbeen already described in the related art, the detailed description willbe omitted herein. Hereinafter, the manual manipulating unit 100 formanually moving the actuating rod 30 up and down will be described indetail.

As shown in FIG. 4, the manual manipulating unit 100 of the water savingvalve device according to the present invention includes a lower body110, a slide bar 120, a spring 130, a locking piece 140, and a removalprevention ring 150.

The lower body 110 is the part which is fastened to the lower portion ofthe coupling unit 34 via a bolt or a similar fastening means. The lowerbody 110 is open at its top, and has a predetermined space 112 toreceive the pipe 38 of the coupling unit 34 and the upper end of theslide bar 120 which will be described below in detail. The lower body110 has at its lower portion a vertical pipe 114 into which the slidebar 120 is slidably inserted.

A rectangular through groove 116 which extends long in a horizontaldirection is formed at a predetermined position on the outercircumference of the vertical pipe 114 of the lower body 110, and afan-shaped hole 118 is formed right under the rectangular through groove116 in such a way as to be tapered in a direction from an upper positionto a lower position. The fan-shaped hole 118 sets the limit of a widthwithin which the locking piece 140 rotates, and provides a space inwhich the locking piece 140 rotates leftwards and rightwards. A shaftinsert hole 119 is formed in a vertex located in the lowermost end ofthe fan-shaped hole 118, so that one end of the locking piece 140 isrotatably inserted into the shaft insert hole 119. The coupling androtating operation of the locking piece 140 will be described below.

The slide bar 120 has on its top a magnet 122. Thus, as the slide bar120 inserted into the vertical pipe 114 of the lower body 110 slides upand down, the slide bar 120 vertically moves the actuating rod 30accommodated in the pipe 38 of the coupling unit 34, by magnetic force.The slide bar 120 is not limited to a specific shape. However,preferably, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper portion of the slide bar 120has a cylindrical shape and the lower portion of the slide bar 120 hasthe shape of a rod which is smaller in diameter than the upper portionso that a step is formed between the upper and lower portions.

A first locking hole 124 and a second locking hole 126 are formed atpredetermined positions in the outer circumference of the slide bar 120,in detail, formed in the outer circumference of the cylindrical upperportion of the slide bar 120. A guide hole 128 is formed between thefirst locking hole 124 and the second locking hole 126 to guide themovement of the locking piece 140. The first locking hole 124 and thesecond locking hole 126 are formed in the outer circumference of theslide bar 120 in such a way as to be arranged side by side at upper andlower positions. The guide hole 128 provides a moving course along whichthe locking piece 140 moves between the first locking hole 124 and thesecond locking hole 126. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide hole 128 includesa first upward guide part 128 a which guides the locking piece 140obliquely upwards from the first locking hole 124, a first downwardguide part 128 b which guides the locking piece 140 obliquely downwardsfrom an end of the first upward guide part 128 a towards the secondlocking hole 126, a second upward guide part 128 c which guides thelocking piece 140 obliquely upwards from the second locking hole 126,and a second downward guide part 128 d which guides the locking piece140 obliquely downwards from an end of the second upward guide part 128c towards the first locking hole 124. Thus, the guide hole 128 generallyhas the shape of a heart (

). The operation of the locking piece 140 moving along the first lockinghole 124, the second locking hole 126, and the guide hole 128 will bedescribed below.

The slide bar 120 slides up and down in the vertical pipe 114 of thelower body 110. To this end, a spring 130 is fitted over the lowerportion of the slide bar 120 to elastically support the slide bar 120 inthe vertical pipe 114. As described above, the slide bar 120 is insertedinto the vertical pipe 114 which is provided on the lower portion of thelower body 110, and is shaped such that the lower portion of the slidebar 120 has a smaller diameter than the upper portion thereof, thusforming the step between the upper and lower portions. The spring 130 isfitted over the lower portion which has a smaller diameter than theupper portion, so that one end of the spring 130 is supported by thestep. Meanwhile, a through hole (not shown) is formed in the lower endof the vertical pipe 114 of the lower body 110 and has a diametercorresponding to that of the lower end of the slide bar 120. Further, astopping step is provided around the through hole on the lower end ofthe slide bar 120 to support the other end of the spring 130.

Through such a construction, when the lower end of the slide bar 120protruding through the through hole in the state where the slide bar 120is fitted into the vertical pipe 114 of the lower body 110 is held andpulled downwards, the spring 130 is compressed, so that the slide bar120 is moved downwards. If the pulling force is released, the slide bar120 is moved upwards again by the restoring force of the spring 130.

Preferably, the lower end of the slide bar 120 is machined such that itsouter circumference has a hexagonal shape, thus preventing the slide bar120 fitted into the vertical pipe 114 from rotating. Therefore,preferably, the through hole through which the lower end of the slidebar 120 passes is also machined to have a hexagonal shape. Further, inorder to easily hold and pull the slide bar 120, a catcher insert hole129 is formed in the lower end of the slide bar 120, and a catcher 200such as a cord, wire, ring, or stick is inserted into the catcher inserthole 129, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, by pulling the cord or wire after auser holds it or releasing the pulling force, the valve can be manuallyopened or closed.

As described above, the actuating rod 30 is moved up and down by thevertical motion of the slide bar 120. To this end, when the slide bar120 is moved down, the magnet 122 provided on the upper end of the slidebar 120 must be spaced apart from the pipe 38 accommodating theactuating rod 30 by a predetermined interval so that magnetic force isnot applied to the actuating rod 30. Meanwhile, when the slide bar 120is moved up, the magnet 122 provided on the upper end of the slide bar120 must come into contact with the lower surface of the pipe 38 so thatmagnetic force is applied to the actuating rod 30. Here, the intervalbetween the slide bar 120 and the pipe 38 is adjusted by the lockingpiece 140.

The locking piece 140 is the part which limits the upward movement ofthe slide bar 120 by the force of the spring 130 fitted over the lowerportion of the slide bar 120, thus alternately securing the slide bar120 to a height at which magnetic force is applied to the actuating rod30 or a height at which magnetic force is not applied to the actuatingrod 30. The upper and lower ends of the locking piece 140 are bent inthe same direction such that the locking piece 140 has the shape of a ‘

’. The bent lower end is rotatably fitted into the shaft insert hole 119which is formed in the outer surface of the vertical pipe 114 providedon the lower portion of the lower body 110, and the bent upper end ismoved along the guide hole 128 to be alternately stopped and supportedby the first locking hole 124 or the second locking hole 126. When theupper end of the locking piece 140 is stopped by the first locking hole124 which is formed at the lower position, the upper end of the slidebar 120 is in close contact with the bottom of the pipe 38. Meanwhile,when the upper end of the locking piece 140 is stopped by the secondlocking hole 126 which is formed at the upper position, the upper end ofthe slide bar 120 is spaced apart from the pipe 38 by a predeterminedinterval. The operation will be described below in detail.

The removal prevention ring 150 is fitted over the outer circumferenceof the vertical pipe 114 of the lower body 110, preferably, the outerportion of the locking piece 140 so as to prevent the locking piece 140from being removed from the vertical pipe 114.

Hereinbefore, respective components of the water saving valve deviceaccording to the present invention have been described. Hereinafter, theoperation of the intermediate valve including the above-mentionedcomponents will be described in detail.

FIGS. 5 through 10 sequentially illustrate the operation of the lockingpiece 140 and the slide bar 120 when a user pulls the slide bar 120 froma lower position and releases the slide bar 120 two times.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, when the bent upper end of the locking piece140 is stopped by the first locking hole 124 first, the slide bar 120 ispushed up by the force of the spring 130, so that the magnet 122provided on the upper end of the slide bar 120 is in contact with thebottom of the pipe 38 of the coupling unit 34. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6,the actuating rod 30 fitted into the pipe 38 is affected by magneticforce, so that the spring 32 coupled to the lower portion of theactuating rod 30 is compressed, and the actuating rod 30 is moveddownwards. When the actuating rod 30 moves downwards, the push plate 26seated on the actuating rod 30 is also moved downwards. Thereafter, thepacking 20 supported by the push plate 26 is separated from the pushplate 26 by the pressure of water fed into the vertical pipe 16, so thatthe water flows through the vertical pipe 16 into the water outlet port14.

In such a state, when a user desires to temporarily stop supplying waterso as to lather his or her body or perform another task during a shower,the catcher 200 such as a cord or wire coupled to the lower end of theslide bar 120 is pulled downwards. FIG. 7 illustrates the state of thevalve after the catcher 200 is pulled once when in the state of FIG. 5and released. As shown in the drawing, if the catcher 200 is pulledonce, the spring 130 installed in the vertical pipe 114 is compressed,and the slide bar 120 is moved downwards. Thus, the upper end of thelocking piece 140 is moved obliquely upwards from the first locking hole124 along the first upward guide part 128 a of the guide hole 128. Atthis time, the lower end of the locking piece 140 is rotated in theshaft insert hole 119, and the central portion of the locking piece 140is moved to one side of the fan-shaped hole 118. Subsequently, when thecatcher 200, such as a cord or wire, coupled to the lower end of theslide bar 120 is released, the upper end of the locking piece 140 ismoved along the first downward guide part 128 b of the guide hole 128and then stopped and supported by the second locking hole 126. At thistime, the locking piece 140 rotates and returns to the center of thefan-shaped hole 118.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the valve device when the locking piece140 is stopped and supported by the second locking hole 126 by pullingthe catcher 200 once and releasing it as shown in FIG. 7. In this state,the upper end of the slide bar 120 is spaced apart from the bottom ofthe pipe 38 of the coupling unit 34 by a predetermined interval, so thatmagnetic force is not applied to the actuating rod 30. Thus, theactuating rod 30 is pressed upwards by the restoring force of the spring32, thus pushing the push plate 26 and supporting the packing 20 seatedon the push plate 26. Thereby, the packing 20 comes into contact withthe lower end of the vertical pipe 16, so that the valve maintains aclosed state and the supply of water is temporarily cut off.

When a user desires to use water again, the catcher 200, such as a cordor wire, coupled to the lower end of the slide bar 120 is pulleddownwards again. FIG. 9 illustrates the state of the valve after thecatcher 200 is pulled once from the state of FIG. 8 and released. Asshown in FIG. 9, if the catcher 200 is pulled again, the slide bar 120is moved downwards and the spring 130 is compressed. Further, the upperend of the locking piece 140 is moved obliquely upwards along the secondupward guide part 128 c of the guide hole 128. Subsequently, if thecatcher 200 is released again, the slide bar 120 is moved up by therestoring force of the spring 130, so that the magnet 122 provided onthe upper end of the slide bar 120 comes into contact with the pipe 38of the coupling unit 34, and the upper end of the locking piece 140moves along the second downward guide part 128 d of the guide hole 128to return to the first locking hole 124 again. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6,the valve is open, so that water is supplied to the shower head 60.

As such, when the catcher 200, such as a cord or wire, coupled to thelower end of the slide bar 120 is pulled once and released with thevalve open first, the valve is closed, so that the supply of water iscut off. If the catcher 200 is pulled once again and released, the valveis open, so that the supply of water resumes. In this way, by repeatedlypulling and releasing the slide bar 120, the supply of water to theshower head 60 can be manually controlled.

As described above, the present invention provides a water saving valvedevice, which is constructed to manually move an actuating rod up anddown without using a solenoid, thus preventing malfunction by anelectric signal, reducing manufacturing cost and maintenance cost, andwhich has a small volume, thus making it easy to install, and which iscapable of preventing the leakage of water due to the interruption orinstability of power.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. A water saving valve device having a valve body including a waterinlet port, a water outlet port and a vertical pipe, a coupling unitincluding a coupling plate coupled to a lower portion of the valve bodyand a pipe provided on a lower portion of the coupling plate, a springand an actuating rod inserted into the pipe, a push plate contacting theactuating rod in such a way as to move up and down, and a packing,wherein a manual manipulating unit is coupled to a lower portion of thecoupling unit to manually move the actuating rod up and down, the manualmanipulating unit comprising: a lower body coupled to the lower portionof the coupling unit, the lower body being open at a top and having aspace therein, with a vertical pipe provided on a lower portion of thelower body; a slide bar having on an upper end thereof a magnet, andvertically moving the actuating rod accommodated in the pipe of thecoupling unit by a magnetic force of the magnet, as the slide barinserted into the vertical pipe slides up and down; a spring fitted overan outer circumference of a lower portion of the slide bar toelastically support the slide bar in the vertical pipe; and a lockingpiece, an upper end thereof being alternately stopped and supported by afirst locking hole and a second locking hole which are formed side byside at upper and lower positions on an outer circumference of the slidebar when the slide bar moves up and down, a lower end thereof beingsupported by an outer circumference of the vertical pipe, so that theslide bar is secured alternately at a position where magnetic force actson the actuating rod and a position where magnetic force does not act onthe actuating rod.
 2. The water saving valve device as set forth inclaim 1, wherein a guide hole is formed between the first locking holeand the second locking hole to guide a movement of the upper end of thelocking piece, the guide hole comprising: a first upward guide part forguiding the locking piece obliquely upwards from the first locking hole;a first downward guide part for guiding the locking piece obliquelydownwards from an end of the first upward guide part to the secondlocking hole; a second upward guide part for guiding the locking pieceobliquely upwards from the second locking hole; and a second downwardguide part for guiding the locking piece obliquely downwards from an endof the second upward guide part to the first locking hole.
 3. The watersaving valve device as set forth in claim 1, wherein a removalprevention ring is fitted over an outer portion of the locking piece toprevent the locking piece from being removed from the vertical pipe. 4.The water saving valve device as set forth in claim 2, wherein a throughgroove is provided in a predetermined portion on an outer circumferenceof an upper portion of the vertical pipe of the lower body in such a wayas to extend in a horizontal direction, so that the upper end of thelocking piece passes through the through groove and moves along theguide hole formed in the outer circumference of the slide bar, and thelower end of the locking piece is rotatably fitted into a shaft inserthole which is formed in the outer circumference of the vertical pipeprovided on the lower portion of the lower body.
 5. The water savingvalve device as set forth in claim 4, wherein a fan-shaped hole isformed right under the through groove of the vertical pipe in such a wayas to be tapered in a direction from an upper position to a lowerposition, and provides a horizontal rotating space for the lockingpiece.
 6. The water saving valve device as set forth in claim 1, whereina catcher is coupled to the lower end of the slide bar to be easilycaught when the slide bar is manually moved up and down.
 7. The watersaving valve device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the water savingvalve device is installed at a position between a water pipe and ashower head.